On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 169: #For Real? A Battle Between the World’s Strongest

I received an answer from the wrong stalker instead.

[All-Cutting Heavenly Sword says Infinite Abundance isn’t available at the moment. He chuckles, saying catfight is the best.]

...Catfight?

“Oh!” I recalled what happened in my dream when I was out.

They’re still going at it?

[All-Cutting Heavenly Sword says good things must be shared and shares his vision with you.]

Wow, what’s with this miser all of a sudden?

[Blind Eyes of God has been connected with All-Cutting Heavenly Sword.]

Plop!

The moment I saw it, I buckled on the floor.

“M-Mr. Yu! What’s wrong?” Xu Zhu quickly helped me to my feet.

Despite having only witnessed their fight for a few seconds, I broke into cold sweat.

Gosh, was that real? A battle of the world’s strongest... Wait, now isn’t the time for nonsense!

I spoke to Heavenly Sword in a haste.

Mr. All-Cutting, shouldn’t we stop them?

[All-Cutting Heavenly Sword says he can take you there if you think you can stop them. It looks fun, so he’s willing to send you there free of charge.]

I pondered for a while. Did I really want to venture into an apocalyptic, Ragnarok-like realm, where massive clashes between a giant sickle and rose monsters devastated mountains and shattered the earth?

“Nah, forget it.” I pushed their fight to the back of my mind.

Sometimes, even gods fight. I do hope Abundance noonim wins, though.

[Silently Crawling Nightmare stares at you sadly, asking how could you do this to her when she had given you her heart and body.]

Incredible, to still be able to spout such nonsense while engaged in a fight.

Flash!

Just as I was in awe at Silently Crawling Nightmare’s skills, Xu Zhu suddenly scooped me up into a princess carry.

“X-Xu Zhu?”

“Mr. Yu, I think you’re still recovering, so let me take you back to the hospital room!”

“N-no, I’m fin—”

She began sprinting before I could even stop her.

Xu Zhu, despite your new appearance, you remain the same, old ignorant you.

Also, how could a grown man be princess-carried by a small cute girl?!

I covered my face out of embarrassment.

“Patient, and you, student! You shouldn’t be running in the hospital like that!”

“I’m sorry...”

“Sorry...”

In the end, we were scolded by the nurse.

***

"Mr. Yu! The pumpkin I planted kept growing bigger every day! Do you know how big it is now? It’s this big!" Xu Zhu spread her arms wide, showing off the size of her pumpkin.

The conversation with her was highly entertaining. When she talked about her mother back in their hometown, she was basically glowing with happiness. She was the same Xu Zhu I knew, alright.

Truth to be told, why would her appearance matter? Although it was a short period, she was still my lovely student. Xu Zhu even shared her future plans with me. After graduating from the Hunter Academy, she’d like to be a normal citizen instead of becoming a Hunter. She’d study agriculture, then return to her hometown and set up a farm with her mother and the other villagers. She wanted to feed them so they didn’t have to worry about food.

The decision to change her future path could also be a side effect of Abundance noonim’s blessing. Nevertheless, it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand her longing for peace. Ever since she was young, she’d lived with the Three Martial Association.

“Good luck. I’m sure you can do it.”

“Thank you! I will strive to be China’s wealthy tycoon!”

...Her dream was a far cry from my idea of a peaceful life. Well, this could also be a side effect of Abundance noonim’s blessing, who was worshipped as the Goddess of Bountiful Harvests across various worlds.

Our conversation continued for a while more, and we lost track of time. Checking her watch, Xu Zhu announced that she had to return to the academy.

“Mr. Yu.” Before stepping out of the ward, she turned around and returned me a deep bow. “Thank you for saving both me and my mother. I will repay you for the rest of my life.”

Her face turned red, perhaps from embarrassment, and she scurried away.

Ding!

God-Maker responded at the same time.

[Xu Zhu has become a follower of the Earth branch.]

[Xu Zhu is a strong follower with potential for transcendence, blessed by the Top-tier God Infinite Abundance.]

[Xu Zhu’s skill, Blessing of Bountiful Harvest, is now available for Skill Sharing.]

[Blessing of Bountiful Harvest: Promotes growth of crops or plants with the blessings from the Great Mother Earth.]

Ding!

[The S-rank and above intelligent beings with potential for transcendence, like the divine beasts from Eden, the lesser god race Esméralda, and Xu Zhu, have become new followers.]

-----

[Quest: High-tier Benevolent God Promotion (In Progress)]

Followers of intelligent beings at S-rank and above with potential for transcendence: 776/10000

-----

“See you later.” I smiled as Xu Zhu left.

Actually, it felt like I was the one who was saved, not Xu Zhu.

“Aah! It’s time for me to get discharged from the hospital!” I stood up from my bed, stretching my body. The Hunter Association had offered to cover my hospital bills, but I didn’t need to stay since I was feeling fine.

Hospital dinner menu: Rice, spicy beef and octopus stir-fry, seaweed soup, seasoned spinach, kimchi

But I changed my mind after seeing the dinner menu.

Spicy beef and octopus stir-fry?! A fusion of the best meat on land and plumpest seafood of the sea—a destructive combo! And when the sauce is mixed in fluffy white rice, it tastes heavenly!

“Yeah, let’s have dinner before leaving.”

It wasn’t always easy for a man who lives alone to cook a meal.

Growl!

On top of that, I hadn’t eaten a single thing since I woke up. Still, there were still two hours until dinner was served. So, I decided to take a nap and laid down comfortably on my bed.

“Uncle! I’m here!”

“Aigoo, Mr. Yu! Are you alright?”

The most dreaded unsolicited guests had arrived.

***

At times, I’d wonder to myself: why was time relative?

Scribble scribble—

Time seemed to move slowly when I was working on a manuscript with a deadline, but why did it move lightning fast when I wasn’t? My editor came to tell me that the manuscript I’d painstakingly built up in our last canning session had run out.

Slicing an apple with a sharp knife that looked more fitting to slice sashimi, my editor-in-charge said, “I thought you’d be more diligent in working on your manuscript after that. How wrong I was! You didn’t even send a single chapter!”

...Just now, did the knife in his hand glint eerily?

“Um, how did you know that I’m here...?”

“Your older sister told me. We’re friends on social media, and she requested me to bring your niece along. She had to attend a seminar at the last minute, so she asked to take care of your niece until dinner. Here, Seong-Yeon. Ah~”

“Ah~” Seong-Yeon enjoyed the slice of apple fed by my editor.

I shuddered in horror. I didn’t think he had connections to my family! At last, I realized the true extent of his malice in trying to stop a writer from falling into laziness and procrastination.

“Would you like some, Mr. Yu?”

“Cough cough! I’m good...I’m not in that good of a condition to eat anything.” I hunched over, coughing, trying to muster the best ill-stricken expression I could.

“Uncle, are you very sick?” Seong-Yeon watched me with concern, tears welling up in her eyes.

...Hic, only my niece cares about me.

“When will we play together?”

Was she only worried about that?! Was this how Caesar felt when Brutus stabbed him?!

Ugh, Seong-Yeon! Not you too!

“At first, when I heard that you were hospitalized, I thought of posting a hiatus announcement.”

I coughed harder at his words, pleading at him with my gaze. “Haa, I’d love to continue with the series somehow, but if that’s what you’re planning...”

My editor-in-charge suddenly grabbed my hands, rubbing them.

Ew, why is he touching me like this?

“Phew.” After observing my hands for a while, he let out a sigh of relief and opened his briefcase.

“Thankfully your hands aren’t hurt. Let’s get right to work, shall we?” he said as he pulled out a laptop.

“Pardon?”

What about my hiatus?!

“I was so worried that you injured your hands! In fact, I was even prepared to transcribe for you, but I’m glad things weren’t so serious.”

I clutched my chest with a pained look. “Huff! Puff! I would love to work on the manuscript, but my body condition...”

"I’ve already checked with the nurse’s station. They said you’ve arranged for your discharge and plan to have dinner before leaving."

“Is that so?! Hahaha!”

This meticulous and heartless editor!

“I'll edit in real-time. There’s two more hours until your deadline, so hurry up.”

“Waaah! Uncle! When are you going to play with Seong-Yeon!”

Both the angelic devil and a devilish editor surrounded me.

“Please give me a moment, let me go to the toilet...”

“Three minutes. You'll know what happens if you try to run, right?” His threat sent a chill down my spine.

Ugh, I have no other choice!

I, Yu Il-Shin, couldn’t give up on both being a loving uncle and a faithful writer without no-shows.

If so, I could only use my last hidden card.

***

In the abyss of consciousness, a vast dark space modeled after Psychic-type Hunter Sung Mi-Na’s mind space, resided the Malevolent Yu Il-Shin. After cutting off his connection with Yu Il-Shin’s main body, he relived the day’s battle endlessly.

-Demon Lord’s...Disintegration!

The Sun God, who tried to burn down their world, was slain by Yu Il-Shin’s sword qi—Demon Lord’s Disintegration. He had evaporated as if he never existed in the first place.

Demon Lord’s Disintegration—A Sword of Emptiness. This stance far surpassed the boundaries of humanity, reaching the realm of divinity. After all, even when it was incomplete, it had managed to kill the Sun God, who had a superior rank.

I could complete it!

Naturally, Malevolent Yu Il-Shin was better than the foolish Main Yu Il-Shin in every way. He’d replayed that day’s battle millions of times, gradually attaining enlightenment about the mysterious stance. At first, the concepts of darkness and light, order and chaos, creation and death in the sword were like water and oil, refusing to mix. Then, it occurred to him that they could be the process of attaining Disintegration.

Just a little more, a little more!

He was about to reach an epiphany beyond good and evil...!

Riiip!

Suddenly, the mind space he had created ripped apart, and a dazzling light poured in.

-Proliferating Thumb of God!

N-no!

Flash!

***

Meanwhile, back in reality...

“You summoned me for such a fucking trivial reason?! Just a bit more, and I could’ve completed that ultimate sword stance!” Malevolent Yu Il-Shin gritted his teeth in anger while grabbing my neck.

I wasn’t the least bit afraid since he was also me.

“Now, now, don’t be so reluctant. You’re still me after all. Let’s share the pain.”

My alter ego looked at me in disbelief, speechless.

At that time, I still didn’t know the consequences this choice would bring forth: the legend of the world's strongest uncle!